


The Intrusion Part 2

by Natasha_Barton



Series: The Intrusion [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 13:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natasha_Barton/pseuds/Natasha_Barton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 of the trilogy follows Steve Rogers and his wife Jenna as they deal with an unwanted visitor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Intrusion Part 2

            The sound of glass shattering rudely woke Jenna.

            “What the fondue?” she muttered. Jenna rolled over and hit Steve, trying to wake him. “Steve! Go deal with whoever just broke into our house. I’m not getting out of this bed!” Steve woke with a start, his shield instantly in his hand.

            “Jenna! What’s happening?”

            “Someone broke in. Go deal with them. I’m going back to sleep…” She was out again almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

            Steve jumped out of bed and stealthily moved towards the door. He took one last glance at his sleeping wife before investigating the noise that had originally awoken her.

            The house was eerily silent as Steve crept towards the dining room. Whoever the intruder was, they knew what they were doing; any noise would give them away.

            Steve scanned the dining room before moving farther down the hall. Still no intruder. Where were they? Quick searches of the next few rooms were unsuccessful. It appeared the burglar wasn’t on the first floor anymore. _How could they have moved so quickly?_ Steve wondered. _Unless they broke in near the staircase…_ He turned to the stairs and, stepping over the broken glass, slowly crawled up them.

            Perched on the top stair, Steve stopped to listen to the overwhelming silence. After what felt like an eternity, he heard something. It was slight, almost unnoticeable, but it was there; a footstep. Steve’s heightened senses helped him narrow down which area of the house the intruder was in. He rolled down the hall towards the guest bedroom. The door was ajar, but only slightly; it was open just far enough to be noticed, and not closed enough for the latch to catch. Steve peered through the tiny crack between the door and the paneling. What appeared to be a young woman stood at the foot of the bed, her hands busy silently stuffing valuables into a duffle bag. She had cracked the hidden wall safe!

            Steve burst into the room and effortlessly knocked the startled woman to the floor. She quickly regained her footing and attacked; she pulled a hidden pocket knife from a leg sheath and attempted to bury it in Steve’s chest. Unfortunately for her, Steve’s reflexes were much faster, and he easily deflected the blade. He swung his shield up, making contact with the woman’s face. Stunned, she collapsed on the floor, rapidly sinking into unconsciousness.

            Steve dug through the closet and found some long-forgotten scarves, which he used to bind the burglar to a chair. The sharp sound of vibranium hitting bone had awoken Jenna, who sleepily stumbled in.

            “Do you have to make so much noise? I was sleeping.” She looked at the bleeding woman bound to a chair, then down to the carpet. “Steve Rogers, you better clean up that blood!”

            “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll have people take care of it. We currently have a bigger issue.” He gestured back at the intruder.

            “A bigger issue? You’re Captain America. One burglar is **_not_** an issue. What is an issue is her blood staining my carpet.” Jenna sassed back. She was definitely awake now.

            Steve laughed. “There’s that sass I know and love. I’ll call someone in now.” He pulled out his phone.

            “What do you want?” Natasha hissed.

            “Hey, remember how I always help clean up your messes? Well, it’s your turn to help me. Bring Clint, too.”

            “Fuck. Steve, it’s 2 a.m.”

            “So? Last month you woke me up at 3. Please hurry before Jenna freaks out about the carpet again.”

            Natasha groaned. “Fine. We’ll be there shortly.”

            “Thanks, Tasha. You’re a doll.” A grunt followed by a sharp click was the response.

            Jenna had wandered over to talk to the young woman, who was just regaining consciousness.

            “So, who are you and why are you in my house?”

            The young woman defiantly stared back, choosing to remain silent. She started to contort her body to escape.

            “Steve, honey, are you sure she’s securely bound? Where’d you get these scarves, anyway?”

            “I’ll check the knots again. Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere. I found the scarves in the closet; I assume one of your friends accidentally left them behind,” he shrugged. “Now,” Steve turned to the girl and pulled on the knotted scarves, “I believe my wife asked you a question. It’s impolite to not answer.” Once again, the woman just stared angrily.

            “Since she’s refusing to speak, I guess we’ll just have to hand her over to Natasha. She always knows how to get answers out of people; it’s not always pretty,” Jenna commented nonchalantly. Just then, there was a persistent knock on the front door. “Speak of the devil. I’ll go get them.” There was a hint of fear in the young woman’s eyes as Jenna left the room. Steve chuckled. She returned a few moments later with Clint and Natasha in tow.

            “So this is the girl who tried to rob you, huh? She’s cute. It’s a shame I’ll have to mess up that pretty face…” Natasha pulled out a curved blade and menacingly strutted toward the young woman.

            “Wait! I’ll talk!”

            “Damn. I really wanted to torture her first…”

            “What’s your name?” Steve asked kindly. _Some days, he is **way** too nice,_ Natasha thought.

            “You can call me Cat.”  
            “So, does that make you a… cat burglar?” Clint was met with annoyed glares.

            “Not the time, Clint!” Natasha admonished.

            Clint grinned. “You know you love my humor.” Natasha shook her head and sighed as she turned back to Cat.

            “So, ‘Cat’. What’s your real name?” She placed her hands on the armrests and brought her face within inches of Cat’s.

            “I… I don’t see why that’s important,” Cat stammered.

            “Just answer the damn question!” Jenna scowled.

            “Selina. My name is Selina.”

            “Well, that’s one question answered.” Steve stepped forward, causing Natasha to back off. “Now, what are you doing in my house?” Cat looked down at her feet.

            “Why can’t you just fucking answer our questions?” Natasha snapped. “Can I kick her off the roof? I’m gonna kick her off the roof.” She started to move towards Cat. Steve grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

            “Whatever floats your boat,” Jenna shrugged. Steve frowned at her.

            “There will be no kicking anyone off anything. Give Cat, er, Selina, a chance to collect her thoughts before she answers.” Tasha shrugged off Steve’s hand and sulked over to Clint.

            “Nick would let me kick her off a building…” she muttered. Clint gathered her in his arms, attempting to console his wife.

            “I know, I know,” he whispered.

            “So, Selina-”

            “Please, call me Cat,” she interrupted.

            “Okay, Cat. What are you doing in my house?”

            Cat took a deep breath. “Well, I basically rob people for a living. I was tipped off that there was a hidden safe full of valuables here, and I guess I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into.”

            “Who tipped you off?” Clint perked up, suddenly interested.

            “I’m not sure; I didn’t really get a good look at him. He had a little bit of an accent, maybe German or Russian? Oh, and I think there was something off about his arm. The left one.”

            “Was it… metal?” Steve asked tentatively.

            “Yes! Wait, do you know this guy?”  
            Steve sighed. “His name is Bucky.”

            “Who the hell is Bucky?”

            “He’s my best friend.”

            “Why would your best friend tell me to rob your house?”

            “Well, the short story is, he thinks pranks are hilarious.”

            “So he set me up?”

            “Basically,” Jenna replied. “Bucky knew how this would all play out. Well then. Now that I know what’s going on, I’m gonna go back to bed. ‘Night, everyone.” And with that, Jenna was gone.

            “Natasha. Think you can handle bringing Cat to jail without killing anybody?’

            “Steve, you take the fun out of everything.”

            “You know, it _is_ possible to have fun without there being death involved.”

            “Naw. My version of fun is way better,” Natasha grinned.

            “Clint, can you help me clean the carpet?”

            “Wait. You want Nat to take Cat to jail _by herself?_ You really think that’s a good idea?”

            “Not really, but you’re all I’ve got. Plus, I know Natasha won’t clean this up.”

            “You’re damn right,” she growled as she untied the scarves. “Guys, I can handle this. I promise: Cat will make it to jail relatively unharmed.”

            “Relatively?” Steve looked concerned.

            “Hey, it’s the best I can do. I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep.”

            “Fine,” Steve sighed as he walked towards the bathroom. He returned with various cleaning supplies.

            Natasha roughly hoisted Cat from the chair. Cat’s wrists were still bound as they walked out of the room. Natasha popped her head back into the guest bedroom.

            “Are you sure I can’t just kick her off the roof? It’d be a lot faster and easier.”

            “She’d probably land on her feet. You know, her being a cat and all,” Clint laughed to himself. Tasha rolled her eyes before ducking back into the hall. She led Cat outside and into her expensive sports car.

            “So… you’re married to the guy who tells bad jokes?”

            “His name is Clint, and yes. No talking.”

            “Sorry, I was curious.”

_And this is where Clint would make a joke about how curiosity killed the cat…_ Natasha suppressed a laugh.

            “Who are you guys anyway?”

            Natasha stared at Cat, mouth agape. “How do you not know who the Avengers are?’

            Cat shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Can you watch the road? I don’t particularly want to die today.” Natasha reluctantly looked back out the windshield. “The Avengers, huh? So are you guys villains?”

            Natasha laughed. “Clint and I used to be. But that was before the Avengers was a thing. We’re a team of superheroes, also known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Honestly, how do you not know who we are?”

            “I’m not from around here,” Cat shrugged. “The only superhero we have in Gotham is Batman.”

            “That jerk? Geez, I’m sorry you have to deal with him.”

            “Right now, he seems a lot nicer than you…” Cat muttered.

            “What was that? You are _so_ lucky you broke into Cap’s house and not mine.”

            “Cap?”

            “Captain America. Steve Rogers. The nice guy that wouldn’t let me kick you off a building.”

            “Seriously? Captain America? You guys have weird superhero names. So what are you?”

            “Like Batman is a great name? I’m Black Widow, and you met my husband, Hawkeye. Other than us, there’s the Hulk, Thor, Ironman, Captain America, and the honorary members: Iron Patriot, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky.”

            “So what makes you guys superheroes? Do you have any special abilities?”

            “Well, Thor is an Asgardian God, Hulk is a science experiment gone wrong, Cap and Bucky are supersoldiers, Ironman and Iron Patriot have metal suits, Falcon has a backpack with wings, Hawkeye’s an archer, and I’m basically a master of martial arts. Oh yeah, Bucky and I are former Russian assassins.”

            “Hawkeye’s an archer? How does that make him a superhero?”

            “Listen closely, you little bitch. Clint is the best goddamn archer the world has ever seen. He can hit any target without even looking. Don’t you **_dare_** insult my husband.” Natasha was glaring at Cat again, who was pressed up against the door, trying to get as far from her as the small car would allow.

            “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” Cat was visibly shaken.

            Natasha expertly glided her car into a parking space in front of Avengers Tower. Cat looked up, surprised.

            “Where are we? I thought you were taking me to jail.”

            “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll still go to jail. I decided I want to see what you’re made of first.”

            “You want to… fight me? Why?”

            “Anyone who can last as long as you did against Cap has to have some skill, and I’m curious how long you’d be able to fight **_me_**.” An evil glint appeared in Natasha’s eye.

            “Okay…” Cat was still kind of terrified of Natasha. “If I win, will you let me go?”

            Tasha doubled over laughing. “You… win? Oh, that is good. Sure, if you somehow manage to beat me, you can go free. Come on, I’ll show you our training rooms.”

            They wandered throughout the first floor until they finally reached the elevator.

            “Why did Tony have to make this place such a fucking maze? It’ll take me forever to learn the layout.” The elevator pinged as the doors slid open.

            “JARVIS, 41st floor,” Natasha ordered.

            “Yes, ma’am,” JARVIS politely responded. _It seems even the computer system is afraid of her…_ Cat thought.

            The doors opened on the 41st floor, revealing a large gathering space with various rooms branching off from it. Natasha led the way to training room #2, her personal favorite. It was designed for her, after all. It was an obstacle course that presented itself in an ever-changing maze. Not even Tasha could crack the pattern; not yet, anyway. Piles of metal boxes and makeshift weapons were everywhere. The room couldn’t exactly be called well-lit, though it wasn’t dim, either. The walls and floor were pitch black, the ceiling a scarlet red. Long ropes dangled from the ceiling, their purpose a mystery to Cat. High up in the corner, a bow and a quiver full of arrows sat on a ledge. _She must train with her husband,_ Cat observed.

            “So. What do you think?” Natasha was beaming.

            “It’s… peculiar. It looks kind of challenging.”

            “It’s supposed to be challenging. It _is_ a training room, after all. Many of the obstacles change each time someone enters. It keeps you on your toes; you never know where your next battle will take place.” Natasha pressed a button on her phone, causing the doors to swing shut. The deadbolt sliding into place was audible. Make that deadbolt _s_.

            “So, we just sort of fight?

            “Not yet. Once I’m done explaining this, I’m going to move to another part of the maze. Your job is to find me before I find you, and take me down. You can use whatever you find as a weapon. To make it fair, since I already relieved you of your knives, I will get rid of my guns and blades. Are you ready?”

            “I think so?” Cat wasn’t so sure this was a good idea.

            “Good enough!” Tasha ran off into the maze, turning corner after corner until she arrived in an open area. The walls moved around her, taking away her advantage.

            Cat looked down at her wrists, still bound tightly. With a few expert maneuvers, she was free. A large timer appeared on the wall.

            “Ready?” JARVIS asked.

            “Let’s go!” Natasha’s voice bounced off the walls, obscuring her location.

            “As you wish.” 3. 2. 1. Go! Cat leapt on top of the pile of boxes next to her, attempting to see over the walls. But no matter how high she jumped, she was blind as to what was beyond the wall. Cursing, she randomly picked a path and set off to find Natasha.

            Meanwhile, Natasha was stealthily crawling through the maze. Over crates, under bars, through small tunnels, nothing seemed to slow her down. Cat, on the other hand, was struggling. Over the crates, that was easy. Through the tunnels, not so much. She quickly discovered that her jacket was too bulky and had to abandon it.

            “Now I understand why her clothes are so skin-tight,” Cat grunted. She clamped her hands over her mouth, worried she had just given away her position. Then again, _she_ didn’t even know where she was. Cat relaxed a little as she came out the other side of the tunnel. Natasha whistled. The sound seemed to come from all directions at once, disorienting Cat.

            “Here, kitty, kitty!” Tasha called menacingly. Her laugh was cruel and distorted. Cat shuddered, wondering why she ever agreed to this. _What am I doing here?_ She wondered. _How has my life come to this? I am **way** out of my element. This chick is fucking nuts! Based on what little I know about her, I’m not sure I’ll make it out of this room alive._

            Natasha rounded a corner and caught sight of Cat’s shoes. A grin spread across her face as she picked up a metal rod and slowly followed. Cat was pivoting her body every-which-way, trying to see everything at once. _Rookie mistake: looking everywhere causes you to see nowhere. She needs to focus on the obstacles in front of her and any possible threats behind her. She hasn’t even grabbed a weapon yet,_ Natasha thought disapprovingly. _Maybe she’s not superhero material. Weird. I’m rarely wrong about this sort of thing._

            Cat paused and whipped around. Nothing. Natasha was pressed against the wall around the corner. Cat reluctantly turned back around and started running. After a few turns, she found herself in a larger area. _This must be the center of the maze,_ she thought. Suddenly, a metal rod flew past her head, inches from striking her. She dropped to the floor and felt around for a weapon, her eyes glued on Natasha.

            “Well, looks like you’re in trouble,” Tasha sneered. Cat gulped as she backed away. She really needed to look for something, _anything_ , to use as a weapon, but she refused to take her eyes off Black Widow.

_Fuck!_ Cat’s brain was racing has her back hit a wall. _I might actually die here!_ She continued to frantically search for a weapon. Her fingers closed around something cold and hard. _The rod she threw at me!_ Finally, she wasn’t totally helpless. She got to her feet as Natasha advanced toward her, a long metal rod in each hand. Tasha was grinning, clearly enjoying herself. A sharp pain shot down Cat’s arm as Natasha dashed forward and struck her shoulder. Her only weapon dropped to the floor. Clutching her right arm, which she could no longer feel, Cat attempted to move farther away. Sensing her fear, Natasha decided to take her down. She dropped to the ground and kicked Cat’s legs out from under her. Cat hit the floor hard. She was slowly regaining feeling in her fingers, so she picked up her weapon again. Attempting to go on the offensive, she sprang up and lunged forward. Natasha easily stepped out of the way and kicked Cat to the floor. Frustrated, Cat threw her rod, which somehow managed to hit Tasha’s hand. She dropped one of her metal rods in surprise.

            “You might actually have good aim. Once you give up, we should test it.”

            “I’ll never give up!” Cat yelled, pulling herself off the floor.

            “Oh hon. Everyone eventually gives up. Face it, you can’t beat me.”

            Cat lunged forward again, and Natasha blocked the attack. Manic laughter bubbled up through Cat.

            “Why are you doing this? It’s obvious I can’t beat you!”

            “This actually has nothing to do with you being able to beat me. I’m testing your limits, your abilities, your resolve. Honestly, I’m a little surprised you’re still standing.” Cat used this opportunity to throw herself at Natasha, knocking her down. Tasha grunted as she hit the floor. Cat sat on her, trying to pin her to the ground. Natasha shoved Cat hard, and she tumbled to the ground. In a flash, Natasha was standing, one foot pressing against Cat’s throat.

            “Give up yet? Or do you need a few more bruises?”

            “Fine. I concede.” Cat spat the words, obviously disgusted by having to give in. Tasha’s entire demeanor changed instantly; a cheerful grin spread across her face as she held out a hand to help Cat up.

            “You’ve got spunk, kid.”

            “Don’t call me a kid; I’m fucking 24.”

            “Well, when you hang around 95-year-olds all the time, that makes you a kid.”

            “95-year-olds? What?”

            “Yeah, Steve and Bucky are technically almost 100. Don’t worry about it. Shall we test your aim?”

            “Why? Aren’t you just going to throw me in jail?”

            “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”

            “What do you mean you haven’t decided yet? What are you waiting for?”

            “Like I said, I want to see what you’re made of.”

            “Fine. Let’s test my aim, then.” Natasha pushed a few buttons on her phone, and the maze changes, creating a direct path to the doors. Cat’s jacket and all of Tasha’s weapons were waiting on a shelf. After unlocking all the deadbolts, Tasha led Cat to training room #4: the one designed for Clint.

            They walked into a large, practically empty room. Half the room was black and purple, the other side black, silver, and red.

            “Whoops. Someone forgot to put the wall back.”

            Cat gave Tasha a puzzled look. “Put the _wall_ back?”

            “Yeah. That half,” Tasha motioned to the black, silver, and red side, “is Bucky’s training room. There’s a removable wall between the two sides. Sometimes Clint and Bucky train together.” She tapped a code into a touchscreen next to the door and a wall slid up through the floor.

            Cat peered around the now significantly smaller room. A variety of bows and arrows decorated one wall, but other than that, it was empty. “Why isn’t there anything in here other than weapons?”

            “Just you wait.” Natasha pulled out her knives and hit the lights. “Okay, JARVIS, start it up!” Within seconds, holographic attackers appeared. Cat screamed as one rushed towards her. Natasha hit it right between where its eyes should be. She easily took down the seemingly endless figures. Cat had backed herself into a corner, trying to remain calm. All of a sudden, the lights turned back on and the figures disappeared.

            “Hey! I wasn’t done yet!” Tasha spun around, looking pointedly at the door. A man in a black and red bodysuit holding katanas had walked in.

            “Sorry, Nat,” he laughed. Her eyes narrowed at the nickname. “I heard screaming and figured it wasn’t girly enough to be Clint’s, so I came to check it out. Hey,” he said, turning to finally look at Cat, “what are _you_ doing here? You don’t belong in this universe!”

            “What the fuck is he talking about?”

            “You’re from Gotham, not New York. How in the world did a DC character get in the Marvel universe?”

            “How do you know I’m from Gotham? DC? Marvel? Who are you?”

            “Cat, this is Deadpool.” Natasha glared at him. “He believes we’re all comic book characters. Ignore him; he’s insane.”

            “Totally!” Deadpool strolled out of the room, laughing hysterically.

            Cat gave Tasha a quizzical look. “What just happened? Who the hell is Deadpool?”

            “He’s an insane mercenary who has these delusions that we don’t really exist. It’s complicated. Unfortunately, he’s also the only person I know who I can’t intimidate; it’s hard to kill someone who literally cannot die.”

            “He’s… immortal?”

            “Sort of. He’s kind of another science experiment gone wrong. Enough about that idiot. Are you ready to try out the simulation?”

            “I guess. I don’t think I’ll do very well…”

            “We’ll see. Pick a weapon: bow or knives?”

            “Definitely knives. There’s no way I’m touching any of those,” Cat replied, gesturing towards Hawkeye’s wall of weapons.

            “Whatever. Here.” Tasha handed Cat a handful of throwing knives. “Good luck. Okay JARVIS, run it again!” The lights went down and Cat tensed up, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the holographic people. The first one came sprinting from the far corner with what appeared to be a sword held aloft. Cat chucked a knife, which went wide and completely missed its target. _Fuck! Calm down and concentrate! This shouldn’t be this difficult._ Cat repositioned her body and threw another knife. This one grazed the neck of the charging hologram, causing just enough damage for it to drop to the floor. _Close enough! Okay, I can do this! Bring it on!_

            Two more holograms appeared behind Cat. She spun around and ducked, the holographic spear passing just above her head. A knife to the femoral artery quickly took down one of the attackers. The other was a bit farther back, so Cat had to try throwing her knives again. Still on the floor, she angled her body and threw. Once again, she completely missed. In her haste, she had dropped her remaining knives. Cat scrambled to find them in the dark, three holograms rapidly approaching. The one she had thrown a knife at was less than a foot away when it unexpectedly dropped to its knees. It was then Cat noticed an arrow protruding from its neck. Tasha waved from the ledge she was perched on.

            “You’re welcome,” she scoffed. Cat nodded and stood up, noticing two more holograms appear. _Great. Now there are 4 of them. I could barely handle 2, how am I supposed to win this?_ He hands full of knives once more, she attempted to take down the hologram closest to her. After a few tries, she managed to hit its shoulder. Unfortunately for Cat, it wasn’t enough to “kill” it. That’s when Cat decided to mimic Natasha’s attacks; she launched herself at the hologram, knives in hand. A blade to the right eye caused the hologram to disappear. _So throwing’s not really my thing. This, however, I can do._ Two more holograms rose from the floor.

            “Why do 2 more show up for every 1 that I kill?”

            “Cut off one head, two more shall take its place,” Tasha yelled in a German accent, her words fading into laughter.

            “What? That’s not fair!”

            “News flash: life’s not fair. Get used to it. The enemy always seems to have a never ending army, and you have to learn how to handle it.” Tasha effortlessly shot down the five holograms that were closing in on Cat. “Okay, JARVIS, turn it off!” The lights came back on and no more holograms appeared. Cat sighed in relief.

            “So I guess I failed.”

            “Your accuracy sucks. Your hand-to-hand combat skills, however, seem promising. Unfortunately,” Tasha glanced at her phone, “I have to go back to get Clint soon, so I guess we’ll never know. Okay, time for you to go to jail.” She grabbed Cat’s wrists, binding them behind her back with some rope.

            “Seriously? After all that, you’re still taking me to jail?”

            “You didn’t pass my tests,” she shrugged. “Plus, Steve would get mad if I let you go free. I’d rather not upset one of my few friends. Come on, let’s go.”

            On their way out of Avengers Tower, they ran into someone unexpected.

            “Natasha! Hey! Wait, I recognize this girl. Where do I know her from?”

            “You’re the dick that told me to rob your best friend’s house!” Cat spat.

            Bucky doubled over laughing. “That’s right! How’d that go for you?” he managed to wheeze between fits of laughter.

            “How do you think it went?” she sneered.

            “Well, since Tasha’s the one taking you to jail, I’m guessing not well. How much did Steve mess up your face before she got to you?”

            “It would have been worse if Steve wasn’t there,” Tasha interjected.

            “That’s true. Kid, you’re lucky I didn’t send you to her house; you never would have made it out alive.”

            Cat grimaced as Tasha shoved her towards the car. “It was nice to see you, Bucky. Tell Erin I say hi!”

            “Will do! Try not to kill that poor girl before you get to jail. Steve wouldn’t be particularly happy if you did.”

            “I’ll do my best. We’ll see how much she gets on my nerves on the drive there.”

            After Natasha dropped a fuming Cat off at the county jail, she returned to Steve and Jenna’s house. Since it was now almost 6:30, she found the three of them in the kitchen having breakfast.

            “Nat! You’re back! What took you so long?” Clint grinned.

            “We took a detour that lasted longer than anticipated.”

            “You took her to Avengers Tower to fight her, didn’t you?”

            “You know me so well,” Tasha smiled back.

            Steve groaned. “Please tell me she’s still alive.”

            “Of course she is, Steve. I promised I would take her to jail relatively unharmed, didn’t I? I just didn’t know how long it would take. By the way, we ran into Bucky.”

            “How’d that go?”

            “He thinks this whole situation is the funniest thing in the world.”

            “Of course he does.”

            “So, did you learn anything interesting about Cat?” Clint asked between mouthfuls of toast and peanut butter.

            “Her throwing accuracy sucks, she refused to even pick up a bow, but her hand-to-hand combat skills should be developed further. She was doing horribly in the simulation until she finally tried mimicking what I did.”

            “What did she do, try to seduce the holograms?” Jenna smirked.

            “Oh ha ha. You know what I mean.” Tasha rolled her eyes.

            Steve suppressed a smile. “Natasha doesn’t do that anymore. At least, not in public or when Clint’s around.”

            “Hey! That’s my wife you’re talking about!” Clint jokingly yelled.

            The four of them sat around the kitchen table talking for a while longer before Clint and Natasha decided it was time for them to go home. They were a few blocks away when Natasha realized they had left their coats in the kitchen. So they turned the car around and went back inside. As they walked through the front door, they heard Jenna yelling something to Steve.

            “Now that it’s morning, we should probably get dressed. Remember, you only get your shield today.”

            Clint turned to Natasha, whose face was turning slightly red. “What does she mean by that?” he whispered.

            “Trust me, you don’t want to find out. Let’s pretend we never came back for our coats; I’ll text Jenna to bring them over to our house at some point. I really don’t need to see what’s happening here.” Tasha all but dragged Clint out the front door and back into the car.

            “Seriously. What is going on in there?” Clint just wouldn’t let it go. Tasha gave him a look.

            “Honey, let’s just say Steve won’t be wearing much for clothing today.” She could see the dots connecting in Clint’s head. He started laughing so hard, Tasha pulled the car over until he got his breathing under control.

            “Too bad that wouldn’t work with my bow,” he chuckled.

            “Well, there’s always your quiver,” Tasha said with a sly smile.

            A wide grin spread across Clint’s face. “We’ll have to test this when we get home.”

            “Oh, we most definitely will.”


End file.
